Gallery: London Underground turns 150

Wednesday 9 Jan 2013 9:41 am

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London Underground turns 150

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 05: Commuters make their way down the escalators at Brixton Underground station on March 5, 2012 in London, England. London's underground rail system, commonly called the tube, is the oldest of its kind in the world dating back to 1890. It carries approximately a quarter of a million people around its network every day along its 249 miles of track and 270 stations. The network has undergone several years of upgrade work and refurbishment in preparation for the Olympic Games which take place this summer. During this time the tube is expected to carry millions of visitors to and from the Olympic Parks. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

FILE – On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

FILE - On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 13: Photograph of contractorøs officials posed in a cutting in a street with demolished houses, with a stationary steam engine powering machinery in the background. The Metropolitan Railway opened the worldøs first underground railway on 10 January 1863, it was built to link London's three main railway stations, Paddington, Euston and Kingøs Cross. Construction caused great disruption in Londonøs streets and was built using the 'Cut and Cover' method. Houses were demolished and the track was laid in huge cuttings lined with brickwork. They were then roofed over and the streets rebuilt. The photograph is one of a series commissioned by the engineer who designed the railway, Sir John Fowler. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

FILE – On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

FILE - On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 30: One of a series of photographs by Henry Flather showing the construction, undertaken between 1866 and 1870, of the Metropolitan District Railway's (MDR) underground lines between Paddington and Blackfriars via Kensington. The line laid by the MDR from the 1860s onwards was designed to provide a rail connection for travellers between Londonøs mainline railway terminals, situated in a ring around the city centre. It now forms part of the existing District and Circle Lines on the London Underground. The construction work, utilising the 'cut and cover' technique, caused much disruption to London neighbourhoods. This view shows workers on the arched roofs of the twin tunnels, each containing a double line, on the Cromwell Road section of the line. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

FILE – On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

FILE - On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

A Transport for London Oyster Card is pictured in London, on July 21, 2008. Details of how to copy the Oyster cards can now be published, a Dutch judge has ruled. The decision overturns an injunction to suppress the information won by NXP - makers of the travel smartcards used in London and many other cities. The injunction was sought in June 2008 after Dutch researchers demonstrated how to copy cards and travel free on the London Underground. AFP PHOTO/Leon Neal

FILE – On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

FILE - On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations.

A Heathrow-bound Piccadilly line underground train stands stationary at Northfields station in west London 28 August 2003 as a major power failure in parts of London put rail networks out of action during rush hour. London Mayor Ken Livingstone ruled out terrorism as cause for the powercut that caused travel chaos for up to 500,000 people. Electricity was restored to most of the British capital within hours. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Paul Dadge (R), 28, helps Davinia Turrell, 24, to safety at Edgware Road station following a series of explosions which ripped through London’s underground tube network on July 7, 2005 in London, England. Blasts have been reported on the underground network and buses across the capital.

Paul Dadge (R), 28, helps Davinia Turrell, 24, to safety at Edgware Road station following a series of explosions which ripped through London's underground tube network on July 7, 2005 in London, England. Blasts have been reported on the underground network and buses across the capital.

LONDON - JULY 7: Paul Dadge (R), 28, helps Davinia Turrell, 24, to safety at Edgware Road station following a series of explosions which ripped through London's underground tube network on July 7, 2005 in London, England. Blasts have been reported on the underground network and buses across the capital. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Emergency services are seen outside the main line station at Kings Cross following an explosion which has ripped through London’s tube network on July 7, 2005 in London, England. Blasts have been reported on the underground network and double decker buses in the capital.

Emergency services are seen outside the main line station at Kings Cross following an explosion which has ripped through London's tube network on July 7, 2005 in London, England. Blasts have been reported on the underground network and double decker buses in the capital.

LONDON- JULY 7: Emergency services are seen outside the main line station at Kings Cross following an explosion which has ripped through London's tube network on July 7, 2005 in London, England. Blasts have been reported on the underground network and double decker buses in the capital. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

In pouring rain, city commuters crowd into Oxford Circus underground station in London’s west end shopping district, May 2001.

In pouring rain, city commuters crowd into Oxford Circus underground station in London's west end shopping district, May 2001.

In pouring rain, city commuters crowd into Oxford Circus underground station in London's west end shopping district, May 2001. (Photo by Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 04: Commuters walk across London Bridge during morning rush hour on October 4, 2010 in London, England. London Underground workers are staging a 24 hour walk out over concerns at plans to cut jobs, causing large disruption to the capitals transport network.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Commuters walk across London Bridge during morning rush hour on October 4, 2010 in London, England. London Underground workers are staging a 24 hour walk out over concerns at plans to cut jobs, causing large disruption to the capitals transport network.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Commuters walk across London Bridge during morning rush hour on October 4, 2010 in London, England. London Underground workers are staging a 24 hour walk out over concerns at plans to cut jobs, causing large disruption to the capitals transport network. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

5th December 1940: Sheltering from air raids at Bound’s Green Underground station, London.

5th December 1940: Sheltering from air raids at Bound's Green Underground station, London.

LONDON – NOVEMBER 18: Maintenance workers tidy up after welding track joints in a tunnel on the Victoria line Underground railway on November 18, 2008 in London. Four million passengers use London Underground daily. 268 stations are served by the famous ‘Tube’ trains on 400 KM of track. The world’s oldest underground railway is currently undergoing a multi billion pound investment programme to upgrade the track, signals and stations.

LONDON - NOVEMBER 18: Maintenance workers tidy up after welding track joints in a tunnel on the Victoria line Underground railway on November 18, 2008 in London. Four million passengers use London Underground daily. 268 stations are served by the famous 'Tube' trains on 400 KM of track. The world's oldest underground railway is currently undergoing a multi billion pound investment programme to upgrade the track, signals and stations. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

circa 1920: Interior of an all-steel London underground train.

1st May 1936: Six underground railway tunnels run under the Earl’s Court Exhibition building which is under construction near Earl’s Court Station, London. The new Exhibition building has been leased for the 1937 British Industries Fair.

1st May 1936: Six underground railway tunnels run under the Earl's Court Exhibition building which is under construction near Earl's Court Station, London. The new Exhibition building has been leased for the 1937 British Industries Fair.

.On 9th January 2013, the London Underground will celebrate 150 years since the first journey was made on the Metropolitan line, between Paddington and Farringdon stations. The London underground tube network now comprises of eleven lines connecting all areas of the capital and its surrounding suburbs, across six fare zones. Recent technological improvements include the 2003 introduction of a contactless payment system, the oyster card, whilst the summer of 2012 saw wifi connectivity available in stations for the first time, to coincide with the London Olympic Games. 1st May 1936: Six underground railway tunnels run under the Earl's Court Exhibition building which is under construction near Earl's Court Station, London. The new Exhibition building has been leased for the 1937 British Industries Fair. (Photo by Harry Shepherd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)